Balta1701

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 6, 2015 -> 03:28 PM) The post I was responding to mentioned decade. I have always thought that to be 10 years. You can cherry pick 9 years, but I'll take the title 10 years ago over 4 or 5 playoff flameouts any day of the week. And my response notes that 10 years is just about as arbitrary as 9 years and you only get to write that comment for 5.5 more months before we're at "> a decade" since then with 1 playoff appearance.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 6, 2015 -> 03:19 PM) Who in the AL Central would you rather have been a fan of the last 10 years? Only one has won a title. Who in the AL Central would you rather have been a fan of the last 9 years?

QUOTE (Jake @ May 6, 2015 -> 12:31 PM) Nobody is allowing for the possibility that Lindsey Graham knew what he was saying and was just using figurative language to explain that he thinks the entire Middle East is bad news (except for Farsi- and Hindi-speaking parts, I suppose) Which is why he wants to bomb and occupy all of it.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 6, 2015 -> 11:23 AM) Chicago metro population was estimated at 9.5 million after last census. Take the 1/3 of it that would apply to Sox, and you have about 3.2 million. Detroit metro is 4.3 million, not counting Canada at all. Minneapolis metro 3.8 million Cleveland metro 3.5 million KC 2.35 metro million Maybe um, the problem is that we're stuck with only 1/3 of the population?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 6, 2015 -> 09:11 AM) And this episode has a little easter egg.

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ May 6, 2015 -> 08:37 AM) Let's say the Sox turn it around next year (or late this season), but the lack of a closer screws them. What then? Robertson is a guy who probably we can wait until the deadline to actually think about moving, or at least until we've 100% thrown in the towel. If the lack of a closer screws us next year then that means we didn't do anything about the position in the offseason while still somehow putting together a competitive team.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ May 5, 2015 -> 05:18 PM) That same Kyle Korver who became a first time All Star at age 34. Who would have imagined? His season this year still makes me angry.

QUOTE (thxfrthmmrs @ May 5, 2015 -> 04:39 PM) They can put Lebron on Rose all they want, but it won't deter our offense the way it did in 2011, Butler and Gasol are a lot better shot creators and makers than Deng and Boozer. The other thing is Rose has had a lot more confidence and success with his 20 ft jump shot late in games than he did back in 2011, he actually had a couple against Lebron last night as well, so he doesn't have to take Lebron to the hoop every play. Plus in 2011 Kyle Korver forgot how to "shoot" for > a week.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 5, 2015 -> 03:37 PM) *dudette D'Oh.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ May 5, 2015 -> 02:46 PM) I agree they are playing tight and the losses definitely compound the problem. I can't blame Robin for our defense because like I've said numerous times, I think we have too many players who are lousy defenders. Can't coach a Fiat to be a Ferarri. Just can't. Baserunning though, that is something that is just inexcuseable but agree part of it might be "tight" aggression given other issues. Pitching staff is due to have a nice run which should help (and hopefully times up with the offense picking things up). IMO you don't have to be a great fielder to not make mental mistakes. You don't have to be a great fielder to do things like hit the cutoff man, perform a rundown properly, not throw the ball past your infielders all the time a-la what Danks is doing right now. I understand if a guy doesn't have great range he's not going to be a great fielder, I'm ok with that. There's a difference between "these guys are lousy defenders" and "these guys are clowns". Right now our team is clowns.

QUOTE (Lillian @ May 5, 2015 -> 03:06 PM) It appears as though 'Chitownsportsfan' isn't getting much credit for sound analysis here. I never understand some of the petty, pejorative remarks from bloggers on the Net, which is a whole other subject. Allow me to just say that while I can see merit in both sides of this argument, I don't think that 'Chitownsportsfan' is getting his fair due here. He seems to make some pretty valid points. I especially agree that a young player should get additional 'points' for performing well at a younger age. Baseball is a game of high skills, which take time to develop. The younger a player is, when he can master those skills, the more it should suggest that the probability of his success is very high. I think the difference is in the evaluation of raw tools, such as power or speed, vs baseball skills and acumen. A guy be the fastest, or most powerful man on earth, but if he can't master the skill of playing the game, those tools will be of little value. On the other hand, a player who is skilled at the game, with much less raw strength and speed, can be the better player. The sooner that he exhibits those skills, the better it bodes for his future. There are a lot of guys who have been very good players, who make us scratch our heads with incredulity over how they do it. Nevertheless, they seem to know how to master the skills of the game. A guy like Dustin Pedroia would never be singled out in a crowd, as an professional athlete, but we've all seen what he can do. Of course, when you get a guy with the raw tools, who can master the skills, you have a super star. At this point, I think that Sanchez is one of those highly skilled players, with limited raw tools. Johnson is the guy with the plus, plus speed and raw athletic ability, who may or may not ever become a really good baseball player. If I want to win now, I go with the guy who is further along in the process of mastering the skills. If I'm playing for the future, I might gamble on the guy with the better tools. That's just my perspective. Seriously, WTF is with this spacing?

QUOTE (Lillian @ May 5, 2015 -> 02:28 PM) Regardless of what we think, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the front office is contemplating this exact.move, and maybe even making these same arguments. It will be interesting to see what they decide to do, and how long they wait to make the decision. The unfortunate part of making the decision to "Send Micah back down" would be that it's a vote of no-confidence in Micah and if you're going to be the team that promotes people aggressively it can actually hurt the kid's development to change course in the middle.

QUOTE (shysocks @ May 5, 2015 -> 02:23 PM) I'm not just talking about BABIP, I'm talking about all the statistical junk that happens 22 games at a time. The Sox also have a 76 wRC+. The number of teams that have finished a season that low since the year 2000 is TWO. So maybe the Sox will continue to hit worse than all but 0.4% of the last fifteen years' worth of teams. The starting pitchers have an ERA- of of 132; 5 teams since 2000 did worse than that. So maybe we also have a rotation that is historically terrible. We're on pace to lose 54.5 baseruns, which would nearly double the total of the next worst team of the last 15 years. We're not breaking records in the other two facets but we're goin' for it here. But hey, the bullpen's ERA- is 69 though! Only 11 teams equaled that. And five other teams in 2015 are on pace to do the same! Maybe this is truly a year for unbelievably great relief pitching. OR... 22 games. So in other words, the White Sox's hitting might get a little bit better because the power is missing but not by a whole lot unless they can cut down on the strikeouts, the starting pitching should get better, and the bullpen should get worse. Not a strong argument for "we need to cool it a bit on the Sox" to me.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ May 5, 2015 -> 02:21 PM) The difference is that Sanchez put up, in a full AAA season, a 111 wRC+ -- as one of the youngest players in the league. Micah Johnson, at 2 full year years ahead of Micah in age, struggled majorly in AAA at the dish. This doesn't even mention the huge defensive upgrade that Sanchez brings over Micah. Sanchez is two years younger than Micah. I'm really not sure why that hardly ever gets mentioned. It's a clear point in Sanchez' favor. I will ask this question: would any other org other than the Sox have promoted Micah this spring over Sanchez? I imagine the Royals wouldn't even have had a decision to make. The Sox don't value defense and they over value raw speed. It's been obvious for almost a decade. Are we genuinely sure about the bolded? IIRC Sanchez went down and immediately had a multi-error game. But I do agree with you, pretty much every other organization in baseball would have given Micah more time in the minors.

QUOTE (chw42 @ May 5, 2015 -> 01:53 PM) The thing I'm sort of afraid of is Rose not being able to finish said drives. If Blatt does actually put somebody on Gasol, Derrick needs to make them pay for it by driving and beating 2 defenders (as opposed to 3). One of the things that is developing with this team is that they're able to actually score in a number of ways and we've seen that in the playoffs already. We've seen a game or two where Derrick hammered the Bucks on the dribble-drive, we've seen Butler get into that act too, we've seen games where that was cut off and they've diverted to the mid-range game, and we've seen games where the outside game has contributed.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 5, 2015 -> 02:10 PM) Fans specialize in panic. The reality is that Micah Johnson means little. If the stars on this team don't start playing like stars, Carlos Sanchez could come up here and hit 1.000, and it won't matter. Though just for kicks... This is Sanchez's call up, versus Johnson's call up. Can you tell which is which? .246/.317/.263/.581 67 OPS+ -0.2 DWAR .250/.269/.300/.569 62 OPS+ -0.1 DWAR So you're saying that Micah deserves to be sent down just like Sanchez was?

QUOTE (shysocks @ May 5, 2015 -> 12:16 PM) And just to expand on this, Bryant has a 52.8% flyball rate. Look at the BABIPs of the other guys around there. 9 of the 30 on that page are below .200. You should not have a .444 BABIP ever, but least of all when you hit that many fly balls and also pop up 15% of the time. This is the type of noise you see after 25 games and it's another reason people need to chill out a little on the Sox. The White Sox's team BABIP is .298, the league average is .292.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 5, 2015 -> 10:03 AM) No, the bullpen is nails. When Scott Carroll gets lit up pitching as the long man his 3rd game in about a week, that really doesn't count in a 13-3 game. The bullpen is beyond fine. I know, White Sox fans are supposed to say everything and everyone suck. I think the focus should be why does Chris Sale and Jeff Samardizasaaa give up a combined 17 runs in their last starts? And why is scoring 3 runs considered an offensive explosion? Soxtalk gets its targets and never lets go. If the offense was this bad 4 years ago, it wasn't the manager who had to get fired, it wasn't the front office that was so stupid, it was clearly the hitting coach being bad at his job. Now, the starters all suck. Any heat on the pitching coach? The offense is as bad as it's been for decades. Any heat on the hitting coach? In fact, I have seen both mentioned as replacements for the current manager. The White Sox will get better. Some won't agree, but that's OK. Many of them prefer losing anyway. Basically all of this does the exact same error you said you can't do a moment ago. And no, neither Coop nor Steverson are good candidates to replace this manager and I am genuinely starting to wonder based on the starting rotation if Coop's methods are tiring out in this city. However, how can you put heat on the pitching coach? As you said, "the bullpen is nails and that's 100% not going to change" so that's clearly a huge success for the pitching coach right?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ May 5, 2015 -> 09:43 AM) The bullpen is nails. You get so caught up in stats 22 games in, where one or 2 outings, especially in games that have already been decided, warp overall numbers. Um...So based on your statement, declaring that the bullpen is "nails" is a very dicey statement as well because all it takes is 1 bad outing for that to no longer be true?

QUOTE (Boogua @ May 4, 2015 -> 09:41 PM) Let's not get too crazy. Shumpert just played a really good game tonight. If Lebron could make a jumpshot the Cavs would have had a really good shot at winning the game. QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ May 5, 2015 -> 09:19 AM) Jimmy Butler defended LeBron in 73-of-75 possessions last nite. James shot 7-of-18 when he was primary defender w/5 TOs via @ESPNStatsInfo I was hoping to make that point. "If Lebron could make a jumpshot", the bulls have a guy who says something about that.

QUOTE (iamshack @ May 4, 2015 -> 08:12 PM) The front office has put the players on the roster to compete. People have spent the last week+ saying this isn't true and I'm not sure they're wrong.

Joy.

QUOTE (LDF @ May 4, 2015 -> 07:26 PM) this team has so much pitching that this yr draft has me trying to play guessing games. You can never have too much pitching in an organization.

QUOTE (LDF @ May 4, 2015 -> 07:23 PM) let me ask this, totally unrelated to this discussion. is it wrong then to rush the prospects ??? i was reading last nite of some org not rushing enuf but sitting on them for extra time, time to mature. i never thought of it until i read your point. The White Sox believe that the best thing for the development of a prospect is to push them until they reach a level where they struggle. Once they're at that point, they believe that is when the struggling prospect can be worked with to correct those issues. IMO their ultimate test of this is Courtney Hawkins. I personally am unconvinced by this philosophy and I don't think the evidence is that it has been successful for this franchise at all. In fact, I feel the guys who actually are making the big leagues and having success are the guys who had someone else in their way and were forced to stay down in the minors longer - Semien got stuck there last year once Gillaspie and Beckham were back, Eduardo Escobar got a full year in Charlotte before coming up as a bench player and then was worked in the minors by the Twins again before he had a really solid 2014 campaign. OTOH we're watching Micah who leapfrogged AAA almost completely unsurprisingly need time to adapt to the bigs.